The hostility reached this level, not because of a vote the senator cast or a candidate he endorsed, but because of a speech McConnell delivered shortly after the end of Trump’s second impeachment trial. NBC News ranMoments after voting to acquit Donald Trump, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell gave a speech excoriating the former president for a “disgraceful dereliction of duty” and said he holds him responsible for “provoking” the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol.
“There is no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day. No question about it,”in his prepared remarks. “The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.
Broadly speaking, McConnell effectively made the case that Trump was guilty of the charges raised by the articles of impeachment, but because the former president was no longer in office at the time of the Senate trial, the remedy should be sought in the courts, not the Congress.